Normally I would just shrug off any talks of legalizing marijuana, as I knew that the Bush administration would NEVER let it happen...but..........

There seems to be a perfect storm brewing that seems to favor the legalization of marijuana in California. Not just medical marijuana, I mean the plant to be consumed to medical or non-medical reasons (though with assumed restrictions).

1. Economic - California needs money. Marijuana is a huge cash crop. While the cost of legal weed is much less than illegal weed, the vice is incredibly popular and would no doubt be a significant source of tax revenue for the state.

Quote:

Marijuana is California's largest cash crop. It's valued at $14 billion annually, or nearly twice the value of the state's grape and vegetable crops combined, according to government statistics. Indeed, a recent report pegged marijuana as two-thirds of the economy of Mendocino County, a ganja hotbed north of San Francisco. That's not surprising—it costs $400 to grow a pound of pot that can sell for $6,000 on the street.

2. Politics-U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder, has made a very pro-state declaration on how he plans to use the DEA in regards to medical marijuana and the idea of state's rights.

Quote:

White House spokesman Nick Shapiro hinted at the policy shift shortly after the California raids, telling The Washington Times that the dispensaries were legal in California and that the Obama administration’s stance was that “federal resources should not be used to circumvent state laws."

3. Elections - With the federals off their back, and the states desire to bring in more tax money, a bill has been thrown out:

Quote:

California would become the first state in the nation to legalize marijuana for recreational use under a bill introduced Monday by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano of San Francisco.

The proposal would regulate marijuana like alcohol, with people over 21 years old allowed to grow, buy, sell and possess cannabis - all of which is barred by federal law.

Ammiano, a Democrat in his third month as a state lawmaker, said taxes and other fees associated with regulation could put more than a billion dollars a year into state coffers at a time when revenues continue to decline.

He said he thinks the federal government could soften its stance on marijuana under the Obama administration.

4. Public Opinion - Public opinion for the legalization has shown a growing trend, while the opinion for not legalizing marijuana has shown a declining trend. The current stance is 40% for and 46% against. In 1969, it was 13% for and 87% against And certainly the public opinion of Michael Phelps, post bong, have been high (pun not intended) at 60%. Of course, these are all polls (albiet conducted scientifically through Zogby, et cetera).

These numbers are nationwide, is it fair to assume that the nationwide numbers are considerably more conservative than California? Is it reasonable that people will put aside their concerns if the pro-party can prove that legalized marijuana will bring in a significant amount of money from taxation, allowing California to have more social programs (that they seem to be addicted to)?

Quote:

Poll analyst Nate Silver notes that the percentage of Americans who favor marijuana legalization hit or exceeded 40 percent in three recent surveys (by Zogby, CBS News, and Rasmussen Reports), a level of support that seems to be unprecedented. "There has been a long, slow-moving upward trend in favor of legalization since roughly 1992," Silver says. He projects that if the trend continues (which, in light of the public opinion setbacks "during the Just Say No years of the 1980s," it might not), support for legalization could reach 60 percent in 13 or 14 years, at which point "things might get interesting," since "my guess is that we'll need to see a supermajority of Americans in favor of decriminalizing pot before the federal government would dare to take action on it."

Interesting chain of events that favor a serious discussion on the pros and cons of legalizing marijuana. California needs money. Marijuana is one of California's biggest cash crop. Public opinion is trending towards legalization. The (current) federal government is taking a very pro-state's rights stance towards marijuana.

The next administration might not be so pro state's rights as the current, but once the rights are given (back), I can see a huge legal battle to re-criminalize marijuana actually favoring the pro-legalizing camp.

I think if just anybody could legally grow it, that would undermine the whole "with restrictions" thing. You can't tax what Hippie A is selling to Hippie B. Nor can you keep him from selling it to his 12 year old neighbor, as long as nobody snitches on him - pretty much how it is now.

But I kind of favor California's legalization as an experiment to see what effects it would have there and in the rest of the nation.

Well, minors can easily brew their own beer. If you try to purchase the raw goods (hops, yeast) you are still carded. Yes, it undermines the whole '21 for liquor' law, but it hasn't gotten really out of hand because it still takes time to brew. Likewise, it takes awhile to grow marijuana.

And it would be an interesting experiment. Will California's roads show more accidents that can be correlated to the legalization? Will employers be able to drug test for marijuana? And if so, how long before it's legally challenged? Will institutions, like the University of California, who receive federal funding still have to abide by the federal laws and forbid their employees from smoking? Who will be able to sell it? Will they need to get a permit so the government of California can regulate the quality? Will black market crime in California go down? And is so, can it be correlated to the legalization?

If I'm not mistaken, state law in California only fines pot possession under an ounce right now. I believe this is a growing trend in alot of counties across America, as just last year quite a few passed similar in my own state which is very unfriendly to liberal viewpoints. As I see it this bill is just the next step toward the legalization in America.

I think it would be a great idea Along with what DS listed, there is also a lot of druglords that grow Marijuana in national parks in California destroying the natural habitat, so legalizing it would put a lot of them out of work I would imagine.

They won't. What they'll probably do is what Massachusetts did and make the possession of more than a certain amount a heavy fine. I believe now it's an ounce, so they'll probably increase the amount for that, and make it much heavier for anything over 5.

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~There's a Door Here, But It Will Not Break~
~There's a Stone There, But It Won't Remain~
~Up There's a Heaven Now, But It Will Not Wait~
~And The Lies There, The Scent Of It, Just Too Much~

As long as there are strict laws against driving under the influence in place along with restrictions about smoking in public I have no personal problem with them legalizing it.

As far as will it happen? I doubt it but it would be nice to see the insane amount of money going to bust dope dealers spent on something worth spending it on.

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"I had a perfect nightmare on a starry torrid sea, I am cast in prison by a crippled demon's plea, The demon has three faces all are laughing down at me, The Banker with his filthy lucre sets the game astride, The General with raging might lets forth a battle cry, The Judge locks now the metal tomb where I am meant to die, But vengeance is a brutal beast not held by any cell, My wit is steeled my blade is wet so sound the reapers bell, Banker, Judge and General you all shall burn in hell."

The biggest reason I could see this not following through would be how easy it would be to transport the weed from Cali to all the other states.

You're forgetting California is the self obsessed capital of the world. Besides if One state goes full on legal with it for a year or so and no one goes into a Reefer madness killing spree all the old folks are expecting then it will probably be legalized elsewhere.

Then again legal whoring never left Nevada so maybe I'm wrong.

__________________
"I had a perfect nightmare on a starry torrid sea, I am cast in prison by a crippled demon's plea, The demon has three faces all are laughing down at me, The Banker with his filthy lucre sets the game astride, The General with raging might lets forth a battle cry, The Judge locks now the metal tomb where I am meant to die, But vengeance is a brutal beast not held by any cell, My wit is steeled my blade is wet so sound the reapers bell, Banker, Judge and General you all shall burn in hell."

It might have the potential to generate an additional $16 billion in annual revenue but considering California has a staggering deficit of $41 billion, the Golden State's government seriously needs to adjust its spending habits if it wishes to be sustainable.